{"id": 1206696, "name": "Carbon opportunity cost (kg CO2e per kg)", "unit": "kilograms CO\u2082e per kilogram", "description": "The Carbon Opportunity Cost (COC) of each crop is equal to the amount of carbon lost from native vegetation and soils in order to produce a given food product. If food products were not produced on a given plot of land, this land could be used to restore native vegetation and sequester carbon.", "createdAt": "2026-03-06T11:06:12.000Z", "updatedAt": "2026-03-06T11:06:12.000Z", "coverage": "", "timespan": "2018-2018", "datasetId": 7489, "shortUnit": "kgCO\u2082e", "columnOrder": 0, "shortName": "carbon_opportunity_cost__kg_co2e_per_kg", "catalogPath": "grapher/emissions/2021-01-28/carbon_opportunity_costs_by_food__searchinger_et_al__2018/carbon_opportunity_costs_by_food__searchinger_et_al__2018#carbon_opportunity_cost__kg_co2e_per_kg", "type": "float", "datasetName": "Carbon Opportunity Costs by Food (Searchinger et al. 2018)", "datasetVersion": "2021-01-28", "nonRedistributable": false, "display": {"name": "Carbon opportunity costs per kilogram of food", "unit": "kilograms CO\u2082e per kilogram", "shortUnit": "kgCO\u2082e"}, "schemaVersion": 1, "presentation": {}, "source": {"id": 31197, "name": "Searchinger, T. D., Wirsenius, S., Beringer, T., & Dumas, P. (2018). Assessing the efficiency of changes in land use for mitigating climate change. Nature.", "dataPublishedBy": "Searchinger, T. D., Wirsenius, S., Beringer, T., & Dumas, P. (2018). Assessing the efficiency of changes in land use for mitigating climate change. Nature, 564(7735), 249-253.", "dataPublisherSource": "", "link": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0757-z", "retrievedDate": "2021-01-28", "additionalInfo": "The Carbon Opportunity Cost (COC) of each crop is equal to the amount of carbon lost from native vegetation and soils in order to produce a given food product. If food products were not produced on a given plot of land, this land could be used to restore native vegetation and sequester carbon.\n\nBecause carbon storage is lost quickly but crop production can continue indefinitely, any system for evaluating the carbon costs of land use must in some way address the relative costs of emissions over time. Much of the discussion focuses on the value of up-front versus later mitigation. In general, this question can be thought as a question about what is the relative value of reducing emissions sooner rather than later. Searchinger et al. (2018) apply a 4% time 'discount rate' over 100 years. The the choice of a discount rate and a carbon value trajectory is a question of policy; the authors selected a 4% discount rate as their central scenario because it is roughly consistent with U.S. bioenergy policies."}, "dimensions": {"years": {"values": [{"id": 2018}]}, "entities": {"values": [{"id": 166581, "name": "Banana", "code": null}, {"id": 91246, "name": "Barley", "code": null}, {"id": 166595, "name": "Beef and buffalo meat", "code": null}, {"id": 166594, "name": "Beet white sugar", "code": null}, {"id": 166593, "name": "Cane white sugar", "code": null}, {"id": 166588, "name": "Canola oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166573, "name": "Canola seeds", "code": null}, {"id": 91248, "name": "Cassava", "code": null}, {"id": 166599, "name": "Chicken", "code": null}, {"id": 166577, "name": "Chickpeas", "code": null}, {"id": 166612, "name": "Cocoa beans", "code": null}, {"id": 166575, "name": "Coconuts", "code": null}, {"id": 166600, "name": "Coffee beans", "code": null}, {"id": 166576, "name": "Common beans", "code": null}, {"id": 166592, "name": "Cotton oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166597, "name": "Cow and buffalo milk", "code": null}, {"id": 166578, "name": "Cowpeas", "code": null}, {"id": 34801, "name": "Eggs", "code": null}, {"id": 166590, "name": "Groundnut oil", "code": null}, {"id": 91252, "name": "Groundnuts", "code": null}, {"id": 166580, "name": "Lentils", "code": null}, {"id": 34803, "name": "Maize", "code": null}, {"id": 166591, "name": "Maize oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166565, "name": "Millet", "code": null}, {"id": 166572, "name": "Oil palm fruit", "code": null}, {"id": 166583, "name": "Other temperate fruits", "code": null}, {"id": 166584, "name": "Other tropical fruits", "code": null}, {"id": 166587, "name": "Palm kernel oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166586, "name": "Palm oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166579, "name": "Pigeon peas", "code": null}, {"id": 166582, "name": "Plantains", "code": null}, {"id": 34806, "name": "Pork", "code": null}, {"id": 34809, "name": "Rice", "code": null}, {"id": 166596, "name": "Sheep and goat meat", "code": null}, {"id": 166598, "name": "Sheep and goat milk", "code": null}, {"id": 166564, "name": "Sorghum", "code": null}, {"id": 166571, "name": "Soybean", "code": null}, {"id": 166585, "name": "Soybean oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166570, "name": "Sugar beet", "code": null}, {"id": 166569, "name": "Sugar cane", "code": null}, {"id": 166589, "name": "Sunflower oil", "code": null}, {"id": 166574, "name": "Sunflower seed", "code": null}, {"id": 166567, "name": "Sweet potato", "code": null}, {"id": 166601, "name": "Tea leaves", "code": null}, {"id": 34798, "name": "Vegetables", "code": null}, {"id": 34662, "name": "Wheat", "code": null}, {"id": 166566, "name": "White potato", "code": null}, {"id": 166568, "name": "Yams", "code": null}]}}, "origins": []}